Drew Wilson
House Speaker Jose Oliva and the next two Republicans in line to lead the chamber are hosting a fundraiser for Naples Rep. Byron Donalds next week.
Oliva will be joined by Speaker-designate Chris Sprowls and Rep. Paul Renner for the Nov. 3 event, which will be held at Tallahassee’s Proof Brewing Co., 1320 S. Monroe St., starting at 4 p.m.
The event comes on the eve of the fourth interim committee week ahead of the 2020 Legislative Session, which will begin Jan. 14.
Donalds was elected to represent House District 80 in 2016 and was elected to a second term last year.
In the wake of U.S. Rep. Francis Rooney’s retirement announcement, Donalds has been floated as a possible candidate for Florida’s 19th Congressional District.
A recent poll showed him with 5 percent support, putting him in fourth in a place behind fellow Republicans Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto, former Rep. Matt Caldwell and current Rep. Dane Eagle
Donalds, who chairs the House Insurance & Banking Subcommittee, has yet to draw an opponent in his HD 80 reelection bid. Still, he’d raised more than $46,000 in hard money. As of Sept. 30, he had more than $41,000 banked.
The Southwest Florida Republican also another $7,500 in his political committee, Friends of Byron Donalds.
HD 80 has a hefty Republican lean — Donalds didn’t face a Democratic opponent in his first run, but that cycle saw then-candidate Donald Trump defeat Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton by 23 points at the top of the ticket.
in 2018, Donalds took more than 60 percent of the vote in a three-way race against Jennifer Boddicker and no-party candidate Dustin Lapolla.
The fundraiser invitation is below.
